PHOTOS: Stewart through the years " All of 'Smoke's' wins Three-time champion Tony Stewart made his 600th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start Saturday night, taking the green flag for the final time at Kentucky Speedway -- and he had a memorable showing in the Bluegrass State, notching a fifth-place finish to bolster his position in the Chase Grid. Stewart, 45, started his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 22nd in the 40-car field for the Quaker State 400. He ranks 24th on NASCAR's all-time starts list, two behind JamesHylton and just ahead of active drivers Matt Kenseth (596 starts) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (595). Among active drivers, only part-time veterans Michael Waltrip (10th place at 783 starts) and Bobby Labonte (13th at 728) outrank Stewart. "Smoke" ran in the middle of the pack for most of the evening, but excelled at the end during a late-race strategy call. As drivers pitted late during the final fuel run, crew chief Mike Bugarewicz called for Stewart to save fuel aggressively. His driver complied, as Stewart climbed from just outside the top 15 to a fifth-place finish, behind teammate Kurt Busch. It was reminiscent of Stewart's win at Sonoma Raceway in June, when a late-race decision to pit also paid off beautifully. "With the way the first half of this race went, we got in survival mode there and still wanted to race hard, but you didn't want to do anything that was going to jeopardize finishing the race and capitalizing on the misfortune of the guys that are around us in points had," Stewart said. "You are not really going to race anywhere else the rest of the year like this, so I don't think it's an indication of what our season is going to be like, but we ran anywhere from 11th to 22nd, pretty much just stayed in that range all day (until the end)." Stewart's previous best finish on the 1.5-mile track was 11th, achieved in 2014. Zack Albert contributed to this report &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

BUY TICKETS: See the Daytona 500 live! RELATED: See FOX's Daytona 500 commercials Daytona Day is fast approaching, with the below commercial set to air on FOX during Sunday's Super Bowl LI between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons only further underscores that the "Great American Race" is three weeks away on Feb. 26 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The commercial, complete with the "Daytona Day" jingle, shows race fans excitedly getting ready for the action and watching the race unfold. Notable drivers such as a bearded Matt Kenseth make appearances, as do Martin Truex Jr . and Denny Hamlin -- they appear in a nod to the 2016 race, which was the closest finish in Daytona 500 history. Kevin Harvick , Danica Patrick , Aric Almirola , Brad Keselowski and FOX analyst Jeff Gordon are in the commercial as well. There's a surprise as well when actor James Van Der Beek of "Dawson's Creek" and "Varsity Blues" fame pops up dressed like a former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion (you'll have to watch to see which one). Check out the spot below and follow NASCAR.com for complete coverage leading up to, during and after the Daytona 500 on #DaytonaDay, Feb. 26. Let the countdown begin! We're 500 hours from the 2017 #DAYTONA500 on @FOXTV . #DaytonaDay @NASCAR @DISupdates https://t.co/S9gI0Ee2xJ pic.twitter.com/JsGvl0Fbf8 — FOX SPORTS: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 5, 2017

17-year-old made nine Truck Series starts with NTS Motorsports in 2014 Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live RELATED: Full entry list for Martinsville Red Horse Racing officials said Monday that NASCAR Next driver Gray Gaulding will drive the team's No. 7 Toyota in Saturday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway . Representatives with the Tom DeLoach-owned Red Horse team confirmed the one-race deal for Gaulding on Monday morning, shortly after NTS Motorsports announced that the 17-year-old driver had left its organization. Krispy Kreme, a sponsor of Gaulding since his days racing in the developmental NASCAR K&N Pro Series, will back his Red Horse No. 7 Toyota Tundra entry in Saturday's Kroger 250 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1). Gaulding and Red Horse Racing are working on adding additional races for him in the Truck Series. "This is a awesome opportunity for myself and Krispy Kreme," Gaulding said in a team release provided by Red Horse Racing. "We have had a relationship with Toyota and Toyota Racing Development (TRD) for several years and when the opportunity came to partner with (team owner Tom) DeLoach and Red Horse Racing it was a dream come true. Walking into that facility just three days ago and seeing the teamwork, professionalism, and how everyone was working together I knew instantly this is where I needed to be to compete in the Camping World Truck Series. Red Horse Racing, Toyota, and Triad Engines really stepped up to make this happen so quickly for me." Butch Hylton will be the crew chief for the No. 7 entry. The veteran wrench has eight wins atop the pit box in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with two of those victories coming at Martinsville. He also has eight wins atop the pit box in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. "This all came about very quickly, but a lot of hard work by everyone here at Red Horse Racing and the support from Toyota and Triad Engines made it happen," DeLoach said in a release. "I've known Gray (Gaulding) for a long time and expect him to be strong at Martinsville (Speedway)." In addition, Gaulding will partner will Precision Performance Motorsports for the remaining NASCAR K&N Pro Series East slate. He is currently third in the point standings in that series. NTS, which will field entries at Martinsville for former series champ James Buescher and Daniel Hemric , first joined forces with Gaulding in 2014. Gaulding, the youngest winner in K&N Pro Series history, drove NTS trucks in nine Camping World Truck Series races last season scoring a fourth-place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for his first top-five in a NASCAR national series. "I am very appreciative of Gray and everything that Gray Gaulding Racing did to help NTS Motorsports during their time with us," team owner Bob Newberry said in a release provided by the team. "I wish them nothing but good luck in the future." Red Horse will also field Toyotas for former Martinsville winner Timothy Peters and 2014 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Ben Kennedy this weekend. MORE: READ: Latest NASCAR news PLAY: Sign up for Fantasy Live WATCH: Latest NASCAR video FOLLOW LIVE: Get RaceView today FULL SERIES COVERAGE • Latest news • Standings • Schedule

MORE: Cassill, Busch have a blast at NBA Finals game LeBron James led his Cleveland Cavaliers to a historic Game 7 win in the NBA Finals over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night in Oakland, California, ending a major sports title drought for his city that dated back to 1964. "King James " -- never one to put the spotlight on himself -- took the moment to not bask in his own glory, but to instead honor legendary NASCAR driver and seven-time premier series champion, Dale "The Intimidator" Earnhardt. He even held up 3 for Dale @KingJames pic.twitter.com/YxPgLDo82J — Brett Griffin (@SpotterBrett) June 20, 2016 On a related note, the title was the third of James' career.

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